God Promises You Hope

Do you ever get down? Of course you do. We all do at different times, and points, in our life.

Do you, at times, feel stuck in sadness? I believe we all do this as well.

There is hope for this and it comes in the form of a promise. Of the over 7,000 promises that are in the Bible the one that I tend to run to in times of sadness, trials, and/or tribulation is in the book of Jeremiah chapter 32.

There, it says:

40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Do not miss the inner-workings of this scripture. The word does not say, “Ugh, if I have to, I guess I may help them out”. You should not have any fear.

So let us, yet again, look at the same two verses.

40 I WILL make with them an everlasting covenant, that I WILL not turn away from doing good to them. And I WILL put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I WILL rejoice in doing them good, and I WILL plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

No maybe’s there. Just a solemn promise that he WILL, WILL, WILL, WILL, WILL make an everlasting covenant; will not turn away; will put the fear of God in your heart; will rejoice in doing them good; and will plant them in the land of faithfulness. This is good news folks!

Think about it this way if you still are not convinced: God—who is the creator of the universe; who has always existed forever and always outside what we know of as time; the God who created you and me; who painted the sky; who controls the wind, thunder, and lightning—actually becomes happy by doing good for us. THAT! IS! AMAZING!

If you feel down, hopeless, and maybe even lost I will remind you of one last thing.

If you are a Christian, at one point or another, you were, actually, hopeless, as all of mankind was. Without God sending his son Jesus (God in the flesh; fully human and fully God), none of us would have any hope. Without Jesus substituting himself and taking the wrath we all deserve, we would, then, truly have zero hope. If you have met Jesus; if you live for Jesus; if you have the Holy Spirit indwelt in you; then, no matter what you feel like at this present moment, there IS hope! Hope that we have a Father who loves us, and an eternal home in heaven, where we will get to meet Jesus face to face one day. THAT PUMPS ME UP AND GIVES ME HOPE!

If you are not a Christian, if you have not met Jesus, guess what the awesome thing is? You have hope too! All it takes is, you, taking a leap of faith and asking God to come into your life; to take complete control; to open your heart, mind, and soul; and to live for him. With that, you can cure what is wrong with you by nailing down the most important decision you will have ever made—living for Jesus.

If you are still breathing then God is not done with you yet; which means, there is hope.

Don't Just Listen: DO

James 1:22 says "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.".

This life is not my own. This is not a prophetic statement: that is, purely, the truth!

In my first post here, I wrote:

"If you know me personally, then you probably know me as something to do with sports. I thank you, if that is the case, however, I have zero desire to be remembered for that. None. Had you asked me what I wanted to remembered for a year or two ago, it more than likely would have had something to do with sports. [Do keep in mind -- I am a paid writer, who covers college football]"

I will preface, what I am about to tell you, with this: THIS..IS..NOT..TO...MAKE..MUCH..OF..ME!!

This, my friends, is to make much of the creator of me, you, the world, the universe, it all--God.

Today I resigned my position as a writer for an affiliate-site of FoxSports. With that decision, already being completed, I feel even more alive than I did a few hours ago. And before you think I am nuts for doing this, hold up!

I wrestled with this decision, I truly did. I'm no better than anyone reading this, not a one. But, day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, I continued looking at the situation and I knew exactly what I should do about it. I pushed back. I was arrogant enough to believe that my way was the best way, that my plan was superior to his plan-- not only was I wrong, and as an act of confession, I SINNED!!!

Very unique things are happening in my life. Unique, to me, because I have never allowed God to fully have it all. I quenched long enough and, throughout this journey, I am being stretched beyond belief. The Holy Spirit is quenched no more. I am as close as I've ever been to the Holy Spirit-- and, truly--brothers and sisters--I have never felt so alive.

When you allow the Holy Spirit to take over; and when you decide that His plan is always the best plan, you live in a way you never have before; you love in a way you never have before; you see in a way you never have before; you are open to things you never would have been open to before; you, truly, are alive.

Sometimes your plan and His plan are the same, but the two plans have different paths. One plan--your plan--would glorify something other than Him; and the other plan--His plan--will make much of him and give him the Glory for somehow, someway pulling it off. [But this will be a different topic, for another day: actually, this thing will probably be a book. YES!!!]

I will ask for your continued prayer. For my obedience, for my contentment in Christ, and for my life to be used in a way that is disproportionate to who I am!

Glory to God! Glory to God!

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment"
Matthew: 22: 37-38

What Does This Mean?

As I began reading through, and studying, Acts this evening; chapter 2, verse 12 caused a pause.

It reads: “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

First, a quick background on Acts before I unpack this verse and why it made me pause to write.

Acts, basically, is the sequel to The Gospel According to Luke; written, of course, by Luke. Luke was writing a letter to Theophilus—who is called “most honorable”, which indicated he was a person of high social standing—and was telling him about the good news of Jesus Christ. Acts chronicles what happened when the Holy Spirit took over, following the ascension into heaven by Christ.

From chapter 1 to chapter 2 verse 8, following the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus spent forty days making himself known to the apostles; He talked to them about the Kingdom; ate with them; and even commanded them to “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about”. Jesus, after telling the apostles that the Father sets the timetable for all events—giving a lasting impression—to not show impatience but, instead, trust God’s plan, then ascended into Heaven.

In Chapter 2 we get to the part where every single person has the capability (the opportunity) to relate; the Holy Spirit arrives.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, as promised:

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

So what was happening here is the Holy Spirit coming to town, taking over, and guiding the apostles with exactly the right words to say—in order to spread the gospel. (Which is, by the way, a promise: No fear of speaking can block the Holy Spirit if He is indwelt inside of you)

So, now, finally, we get to verse 12—again:

When the devout Jews, who were living in Jerusalem, heard the commotion and arrived to hear (as shown above) the apostles speaking their languages, and obviously something majorly going on with these folks they said:

“What does this mean?”

Peter stepped forward to address the perplexed crowd and explained the truth about God and the GREAT news that had arrived.

You see, when the Jews saw the commotion, without hearing a word they could tell “something was going on”. We’re talking first century Christians (the very first Christians) being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and storming right ahead without fear of anything. They didn’t care what anyone thought of them; they didn’t care if it was “cool”; the only thing they cared about, at that moment, was spreading the GREATEST NEWS there had ever been—that the savior, Jesus Christ, had come and gone, they witnessed it with their own eyes, and it was time to spread the gospel.

When non-Christians look at us (as Christians), the goal is to give them the thought in their head, “What does this mean?”. Right?

When the Holy Spirit is indwelt inside of us, it can be seen, and when it is seen people wonder “What this means?”….

Now this doesn’t mean you have to dress a certain way, wear your hair a certain way, or walk a certain way, BUT….

When the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and It is not quenched, not pushed away, people will see it! It is unavoidable! They will see that, in whatever we do, we are exalting his name; that we are eternally happy; and that we are talking about Jesus and LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT!

Highlight that verse and turn it inward.

Ask yourself: “When people look at me, do they see Christ?”

Jesus said that we are “the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden”. If Jesus said it, if Jesus taught it: then why would we hide our light by not speaking when we’re led to do so?; why would we allow sin (darkness) to conquer and cover our light?

Let your light shine.

[What happened next in Acts was a beautiful example of a group of people allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them exactly where they needed to be. And lives were forever saved for Jesus.

I encourage you to read Acts to fully grasp what the movement of the Holy Spirit can do. Can it happen again? ABSOLUTELY!]

Good News: We Are All Equal

On Martin Luther King Jr Day, do you care to guess where there is no partiality? Where there is no prejudice at all?

In the Kingdom of God, we all are equal; we are all his children.

In Luke 15 don't miss the cross-section there: there were tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees, and scribes. As the Pharisees and scribes were complaining that Jesus welcomed sinners and eats with them, He went on to tell them the Parable of the Lost Sheep. In Luke 15, Jesus was telling everyone that even religious leaders need to repent. (No one more, no one less than the other)

Flip on over to James 2 where a sin, one we are all guilty of and is often over-looked, against man is described.

¹ My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. ³ If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

It's often popular for people who give a large amount of money to a certain benefit (in or outside the church) to be given an award, for a building to be named after them, for this person to receive special attention. Giving is great and tremendous, don't mince my words. But, it is clear, in the eyes of our God, we are all equal. When we arrive in Heaven, our Lord will not be giving you, me, or anyone else a special plaque or a section in Heaven (other than your own) named after you. It won't be there. We will all be rejoicing together, singing "Holy, Holy, Holy".

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^[a] you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”^[b] also said, “You shall not murder.”^[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom

These passages in scripture are important not only on this day (MLK Jr Day); but also when we consider how to effectively spread the Gospel -- it is so IMPORTANT!!

If we take the Gospel out and limit ourselves based on people-groups, we are not doing as Jesus did.

There are thousands upon thousands of people-groups with many different tongues around the world. And we all will stand before the throne of God.

Revelation 7: 9-10

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

As Christians, trust this: when we all stand before the throne in Heaven, we will not see race; we will not care the clothes that cover each others body, we will all wear white robes; we will all be on equal ground. And...we already are.

I pray that what is clear in the Bible could protrude earth. I pray we look onto each other as equals, without prejudice of creed, color, or background. And I pray we equip the teachings of Jesus to treat everyone as equal and then apply it to the nations.

Letters To My Bride

Lately, I have been seeking out God and very prayerfully asking him to prepare my heart and mind with what I am "looking for" in a wife.

This is not something I am going to take lightly.

The "process" that I am in ( "the journey" I call it) has stretched me beyond belief; it has taught so much, while bringing me more "in-step" with the Holy Spirit that is indwelt inside of me. (Not running away, not turning my head, just fully surrendering my heart, mind, soul, and body. Everything)

My future bride is the daughter of the creator of the universe. For that reason, and that reason alone, I cannot mince words and I cannot play games. I, and any other male for that matter, would be an absolute moron to play games with the daughter of the Father of everything we see. The God that flattened Sodom and Gomorrah? Uh yeah...I'm not messin' with that!!!!

With that being said, I began writing to her. Who? Her, my future bride.

If I am fully obedient then that means whatever, whenever, and however. If He thinks (check that, if He knows) that it will prepare me for the day I am joined in Holy Matrimony by writing to "her"; then so be it. This isn't my idea, it's His.

So it begins.

Guys (and I am no exception) are not always the greatest of communicators. And for that, I will ask for your prayers: prayers that I will fully communicate to my wife how much I love her; prayers that I will fully show her, before I know her, what she means to me; prayers that I am fully obedient and faithful to her, yes, even before I know her.

Like this blog, these letters will not be planned other than this: I will pray my heart out before writing and after I am done, the letter will be sealed and filed away -- only to be opened in the event I actually do get married.

And definitely pray for Her! Marry me? Heaven help!

Single dudes, if this sounds like something you are interested in doing by all means do it. Remember, it's an idea inspired by Him, to prepare me to fully honor, love, and respect Her, his daughter. This isn't something I am going to do for fun. And though it will make for a great gift for Her on our wedding day, it also isn't something I am doing for the "sweet-factor". This deal is for real.

All the Glory to God.

Ephesians 5:25

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

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You Cannot Outrun God

When you enter a race the goal is to win, right? Of course it is.

I’m almost competitive to a fault. I remember teaching my son to play baseball when the fault of my competitiveness came to light. He was hitting the ball off the tee, and doing well, so I quickly graduated him to me underhand-tossing the ball to him. [By the way: the kid has a natural left-handed swing] Well, he once-out-of-ten times grasped the concept of sharing; so it was his turn to toss me the ball. As I held the over-sized, orange, plastic bat in my hands I traveled back in time. I was Babe Ruth, I was Mickey Mantle, and as my son tossed me the ball I crushed it. I had to hit the ball further than my son did. Not because he was my son, it could have been anyone, I have just always wanted to win. And it wasn’t hard since my son, at the time, was only two-years-old.

It’s funny looking back at that memory now. He, as a spongy two-year-old, was not upset that he didn’t hit the ball as far as his Dad did; it was actually quite the contrary. He looked up at me, with his beautiful blue eyes, and said “WHOOAAA” and ran to get the ball. All I saw, then, was a kid who saw something he wanted to be; he was impressed with me – maybe he had the thought that he wanted to be big and strong like me one day; it’s a look every father dreams of.

On the other hand, it’s possible you enter the race and accept that you cannot win so you are just happy to be there. Everyone is different. Some are ultra-competitive while others are content. Neither is wrong or right.

Does this resemble your walk with God at all?

Have you ever been so gung-ho, pumped up, on fire for God, that you were in a dead-sprint? A few things can happen when you sprint: one, you will give up, or stop, quicker; and two, it is harder to view your surroundings. And it’s even harder to hear, anything at all, during a sprint. When you sprint, you have tunnel-vision -- blinders on.

Test it out. You and someone you are close with go out to your local track and sprint a pre-determined section of the track. While you are sprinting, have a conversation about something meaningful, you know, like Starbucks coffee; The Walking Dead on AMC coming back soon [HECK YES]; or panda bears. Two things, if you are actually crazy enough to try this silly stunt: I want you pay attention to (or think about) how long did the conversation last?; and did you get anything out of it at all? The answers, to both, are, more than likely, not long and nothing.

Let’s stop right here. Because I am not saying, by any means, that you cannot be on fire for God 24/7/365. I actually pray that everyone reading this finds that place. Because, of course, the great commission of our lives is, in fact, to reach out and witness; to disciple and make disciples; and spread the grace and goodness of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. And we should not waste one more second while humans are dying with every click of the clock -- who have never met Jesus.

If you get, and understand, that time is of the essence in reaching people -- to save their souls -- then it is quite easy to get caught up in the moment and sprint.

Sometimes when we sprint spiritually, like on the track, we miss – or neglect – an important message. And I don’t know about you but the last thing I want to do is neglect the Holy Spirit. I am guilty as charged though.

God has blessed me beyond belief -- and beyond repair -- over the past six months. The blessing has come in the form of a hunger and thirst I have never felt before. And I, truly, have never been happier. The caveat to that is this: sometimes, I sprint.

I have found myself, at times, in the midst of devouring scripture and studying it; in downing book after book after book; in a non-stop attempt to satisfy the insatiable thirst that I have—sprinting.

I am a sinner and I am a dude; so between the two I am not sure which causes me to screw up more often. [All the women said Amen!] But, as my journey unfolds – day after day – I want to always be able to hear God when he speaks; I want to be in a place where I allow the Holy Spirit to move me. I do not want find myself in a sprint and, in the process, be out in front of God, rather than where I need to be.

When I feel like I am in a sprint, or not in a good spot to be fully obedient and hear from the Lord, I read John 5:19-20 and it slaps me in the face.

“Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.”

Gets me every time.

Though all three persons of the Trinity (the Father, God; the Son, Jesus; and the Holy Spirit) are fully divine and united as one God in three persons, they all have overlapping roles. The Son always obeys the Father. That is what we should all strive for. How can I, or anyone, obey and follow when we are out ahead?

When our Father calls us, we should move. Because the way my two-year-old son looked at me in amazement as I did something he probably did not think could be done; the same is true in all of our lives. If we quit trying to out run God and the plans he has for us; and we truly open - not just our mind, not just our heart, and not just our souls but - our entire being, our entire life to him; and become radically obedient to his calling, then we will sit with smiles on our faces; with looks of astonishment at the things he will do; amazing things none of us thought, previously, could be done.

When I read Philippians it, simply, inspires me. Paul, who was writing to a church he founded and loved, wrote Philippians while being imprisoned for Christ’s sake – while no true crime had been committed at all. Rome, at the time, had not declared Christianity illegal, so Paul sat in prison and poured out, not only, his love for the Church but to warn the readers, then and now, of dangers to the Church.

In Philippians 4:11, Paul wrote: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances”.

Can you say this? Are you content whatever the circumstances are?; no matter where He moves you?; no matter where you are?

No one can out run God, you know this, so why try? Rather, let us all run at the pace he sets for our lives and be ready to move when we are called.

This race we are all in, to spread the Gospel to all the nations, is not one we can win alone. Together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, with our eyes fixated on God and with our entire lives [not bits and pieces] surrendered, we can win this race.

We can’t beat God there. We can meet him though.

-Makers Mark

He Made His Mark: Make Yours

Welcome to my introductory post here at Makers Mark.

I am starting this blog not only as an outlet for me to get thoughts out, but to reach people. And if this blog reaches one person - whether that means lifting you up; inspiring you; or getting you to understand something previously not understood - then it will have served its purpose.

What kind of thoughts?

If you know me personally, then you probably know me as something to do with sports. I thank you, if that is the case, however, I have zero desire to be remembered for that. None. Had you asked me what I wanted to remembered for a year or two ago, it more than likely would have had something to do with sports. [Do keep in mind -- I am a paid writer, who covers college football]

I figured, if I can write about sports and get paid - I am pretty sure I can write about a far higher calling - a calling we all have - to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation".

You see, I am no longer sitting by while billions of people sit in darkness; there is no time for sitting.

My calling, like your calling if you profess to be a Christian, is to spread the Gospel to all the nations - no matter where that may be.

What can you expect?

For one, these things will not be scheduled; two, I am the one physically writing this blog but do trust this: when He wants me to write, something will be written; and three, since there will be no regular schedule I will post each entry via Facebook or you can sign up to follow this blog and, I believe, get each new post emailed to you.

What about this title?

Ahh... Makers Mark: known mostly, and sadly, as whisky.

If you have not connected the dots yet: the Maker, God, indelibly has made his mark on each of us, Christian or otherwise, by sending His son, Jesus, to take on all of our sin. For that, each of us are called to spread His word, spread His Gospel; the proof is in Mark 16:15. Hence the name.

I unapologetically love our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and I will go to the ends of the earth to save souls.

If I am led to write a "lesson" [for lack of a better term] I will; I may just want to share something really cool that I think could extend your faith and motivation, if so I'll post it.

Why?

I recently committed myself to stop reading the Bible. [gasp]

What I mean by that is, for me, and maybe like you, just reading the Bible to read the Bible served zero purpose. Sometimes I got the meaning and understood it; other times, I had zero idea what the heck I was reading. Enough of that. Enough "settling" into being a Christian. I was not called - nor was anyone - to accept Jesus into my life and then use His promise and His perfect word, transcribed in the Bible, as a dust-collector.

I've knocked all the dust off - of myself and the Bible - and have 100% committed myself to, yes, reading the Bible; studying the Bible; understanding the Bible; growing with the Bible; and SPREADING THE GOSPEL! And I will apologize to no one for doing so.

Note: I am not perfect. I do not pretend to be. I am an unworthy sinner, unworthy of what Jesus did for me. This is a journey; a journey that I will write about. I hope, I pray, you get something from what I have to say and I hope, I pray, you give me your feedback.

Folks, understand something. We, as Christians, SHOULD NOT waste one more second being comfortable in a "Christian" life style. Too many times we gather and high-five each other because Yay, we're Christians. I am not trying to downplay what that means, because IT IS AWESOME that we have a place reserved in Heaven. The grim-reality is, however, that on beautiful planet earth, created by God, there are 4.5 BILLION people dwelling here who have yet to reserve that spot. Four-and-a-half BILLION.

I don't know about you but I want EVERYONE there. Do..not..waste..a...second.

The time to get radical for Jesus was a long time ago - like two-thousand years ago - and together, we can stir up Hell while creating jubilation in Heaven.

Are you with me?

[I ask for your prayers as I embark on this journey.]